2015-0572551E5 Tuition to foreign university

Principal Issues: Whether courses taken at a foreign university would qualify for the tuition, education and post-secondary textbook credits.

Position: General comments provided.

Reasons: The amounts in question are the subject of a review by the CRA. Provided general clarification of the rules for foreign tuition/education as well as guidance on submitting a notice of objection.

Author: Wirag, Eric
Section: -

XXXXXXXXXX
                                                                                                                                                             2015-057255
                                                                                                                                                             Eric Wirag, CPA, CMA
                                                                                                                                                             (613) 670-9053

March 23, 2015

Dear XXXXXXXXXX,

We are replying to your letter of February 9, 2015, in which you asked for our comments regarding eligibility for the tuition, education and post-secondary textbook tax credits for courses taken at a university in the United States as part of your Masters program.  You state that the courses at the university in the U.S. are a requirement of your Masters program, which is a joint program between that university and a Canadian university. 

You noted that you requested an adjustment to claim these amounts on your 2013 tax return which has been assessed by the Processing Review Section of the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”).  You had also requested an adjustment for tuition fees paid to the Canadian university and XXXXXXXXXX months of the full-time education and textbook amounts in 2013 based on your Form T2202A -Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate, issued by the Canadian university.  According to the information provided, it appears that your tuition, education and textbook amounts with respect to the university in Canada were allowed but amounts with respect to the university in the U.S. were denied.  

The Income Tax Rulings Directorate (the “Directorate”) provides the CRA’s technical interpretations of specific provisions of Canadian income tax law.  There are situations where the Directorate might not issue a technical interpretation, such as where the request relates to a specific matter that is under audit or has already been audited. 

Although we cannot comment on your specific situation, we are prepared to offer the following general comments.  An individual may be eligible to claim fees paid for tuition to a university outside Canada in calculating a tuition tax credit if the individual was during the year a student in full-time attendance at that university, in a course leading to a degree, and all other requirements are met.  Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C2: Tuition Tax Credit, available on the CRA website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/fls/s1/f2/s1-f2-c2-eng.html, explains the eligibility for the tuition tax credit.  Specifically, paragraphs 2.17 to 2.20 of the Folio explain the meaning of “full-time attendance” at a university outside of Canada for the purpose of the credit.

The education tax credit may be claimed for months of full-time study during which the student is enrolled in a qualifying educational program or for months of part-time study during which the student is enrolled in a specified educational program at a designated educational institution.  Either the full-time education amount or the part-time education amount may be claimed in respect of a month, but both amounts cannot be claimed for the same month.  You can refer to Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C1: Education and Textbook Tax Credit, for more information regarding the education tax credit at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/fls/s1/f2/s1-f2-c1-eng.html.

However, if you believe that the CRA has misinterpreted the facts or applied the law incorrectly in your situation, you have the right to object to your assessment.  You will find more information regarding filing an objection in our Brochure P148, Resolving your dispute: Objection and appeal rights under the Income Tax Act, which can be found on our website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p148/p148-e.html.  An objection is reviewed by the Appeals Branch of the CRA, who provide a fair and impartial process to resolve disputes from taxpayers. 

Please note there is a time limit for an individual to file an objection, which is the later of one year after the date of the return’s filing deadline or 90 days after the date of your notice of assessment or reassessment.  If your filing deadline for your 2013 personal tax return was April 30, 2014, your objection would need to be filed by April 30, 2015 at the latest, depending on the date of your most recent notice of reassessment for the 2013 taxation year.

We trust our comments will be of assistance.

Yours truly,

Pamela Burnley, CPA, CA
Manager, Tax Credits and Ministerial Issues
Business and Employment Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate

All rights reserved. Permission is granted to electronically copy and to print in hard copy for internal use only. No part of this information may be reproduced, modified, transmitted or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system for any purpose other than noted above (including sales), without the prior written permission of Canada Revenue Agency, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2015

Tous droits réservés. Il est permis de copier sous forme électronique ou d'imprimer pour un usage interne seulement. Toutefois, il est interdit de reproduire, de modifier, de transmettre ou de redistribuer de l'information, sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, de façon électronique, mécanique, photocopies ou autre, ou par stockage dans des systèmes d'extraction ou pour tout usage autre que ceux susmentionnés (incluant pour fin commerciale), sans l'autorisation écrite préalable de l'Agence du revenu du Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L5.

© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 2015